301921 road map of Illinois
To see close-up, click on the top, middle or bottom third of
map.

Between 1918 and 1925, over 850,000 new
automobile licenses were issued in Illinois. Most roads were deeply
rutted dirt tracks that became impassable when wet. The growing
number of motorists and farmers needing to move their crops quickly
to market pushed for road improvements. This map shows areas where
a hard, oiled road had replaced a dirt surface in 1921. Roads were
identified by geographic or other names and
distinctive symbols before 1926, when the current federal
numbering system was devised .